Why is knowledge of learning important?

Knowledge of learning is important because the better we understand the different ways people learn, the better we can help them make sense of a particular topic or information. Expert teachers have a thorough understanding of how learning occurs and what they can do to promote it. Students interpret things in personal and idiosyncratic ways (Dubinksky, Roehrig, & Varma, 2013; Edwards, Esmonde, & Wagner, 2011; Hattie & Gan, 2011). In this process, meaning can be distorted, sometimes profoundly. Students acquire ideas from how they interpreted what they heard, experienced, or read; related it to what they already knew; and attempted to make sense of it.